Atwood furnace reset.

[cmykpro]

Originally Posted by curtherndon

I have a 2017 Jay Flight 32BHDS and had the same problem. After 2 weeks of investigation, I discovered that the water lines directly above the heater that go to the outside shower were leaking while under pressure, by both pump and city water. The water was leaking directly into the heater, causing the heater blower to come on by itself and click on and off. After I replaced the water line connectors and dried out the compartment for 24 hours with a fan, the problem never occurred again. I believe this to be a manufacturer design flaw.

Brother, you may have just solved a 3 year ongoing mystery for me...
https://youtu.be/0G2u6t9-mtY

Is this what you have been experiencing?

EDIT: after watching the vid the red LED is new to me.

[cjgoetz]

OK, furnace (Dometic DFMD30) in trailer worked great for roughly 6 months then started doing the same issues as discussed in this thread. We all know how they design access in these trailers and ours is the same of course.

First problem is dealer is 3 hours away.

Tried calling Jayco direct for mobile tech since the Leveling Jacks where also not working (found a wire nut providing power had come off) but since I'm so remote, any tech I find will be driving more than fixing.

Removed the Furnace myself and took it to the nearest 'RV repair shop' an hour away and of course, Furnace ran perfect for them.

We've found that if we should off thermostat for at least 30 minutes, we can turn back on and it works normally for anywhere from 4-10 hours and then quits with the heat. Blower will run for 30 seconds and then it shuts off. Have not had to reset furnace switch doing it this way.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. We are thinking of changing the thermostat since some of our research has us believing it could be indirectly the issue. Guessing at this point.

Thanks,
Chuck

[Rustic Eagle]

Chuck,

When the tech checked out your furnace did he remove the sail-switch and confirm that there wasn't any debris, pet hair, etc., on/or near the switch? These sail switches are noted for creating problems like you described.

Also, if the furnace return air flow is restricted it can cause the furnace to overheat and the high temp sensor will kick off the heat. Restriction of any kind in the heat output system (ducts, floor vents, etc.) can cause furnace issues as well.

Just thinking out loud......

Bob

[Ralston89]

Wondering if anyone has had the same issue as me with the furnace. I’m living full time in my 2018 pinnacle. My furnace is doing some crazy things. Every night my high limit reset switch is tripping on the furnace. It needs to be reset everyday just one time though. Once it’s reset it works flawlessly the rest of the day. Does anyone have any idea what is going on with this thing? I’m tired of waking up every morning cold.

[cjgoetz]

Bob,

I don't know if he checked it or not. They all commented on how clean the unit was so I'm guessing since it fired right up for them and continued to work with him shutting it down, cooling off and working as it should again, he didn't.

As far as Airflow. I've cleaned up the supply side and made everything as smooth as I can short of strapping it up. It is better than it was. The return side is as open as it can be considering the design placement of everything.

You did just give me a thought and something to check though. The duct-work that is used to heat the return area I'll have to check and see if it's blowing to the furthest corner and not being sucked up by the return right away. I could see that causing the overheat if the return air is Pre-heated yet the thermostat is saying it still needs more heat within the trailer itself.

And for what it's worth, last night it ran all night and is still functioning perfect this morning. That said it's been getting colder also.

[Rustic Eagle]

Ralston89,

Welcome to JOF

Your furnace issue could be a number of things, but I would start with checking:

* Check for any restrictions with the heating ducts and return air path to the furnace (louvered blower motor area of furnace housing).

* Possible compromised high temp limit switch.

* Wall thermostat.

* Circuit board.

There are other possibilities, these furnaces are prone to mystery 'root cause' solutions.

Bob

[cjgoetz]

OK, found if I bypass the thermostat, the furnace appears to run fine but we noticed that after running for 15 minutes or so the 'fire' will go out and it will just blow for a minute or two and then 'relight' itself as it continues to heat the trailer up to temperature.

I have had it twice not start but a little banging seams to knock something loose and it fires up.

I'm thinking the limit switch is going bad.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Chuck

[Rustic Eagle]

Chuck,

Check your thermostat manual for a 'reset' or 'initialization' procedure.., then give the thermostat another try in starting the system.

If you haven't yet, preform a furnace 'reset'. Turn the furnace reset switch to the 'off' position for at least 60 seconds, then back to the 'reset' position.

Since your still under warranty I would arrange through Jayco approved technical service on your furnace on-site or otherwise. I wouldn't attempt to repair the furnace and possibly void the warranty in doing so.

Bob

[Smoky]

This was great information. I too have an Atwood furnace underneath my 2017 X17Z, which I bought a week ago. Both the furnace and the fridge quit working. (I believe something went cuckoo when the batteries went bad.) Anyway, I was able to reset the fridge by doing a reset at the control panel. Fridge fixed.

Now this furnace. I pulled some flimsy wood panels off inside a small cabinet under the fridge. Looking at the back of the furnace, I saw the switch you mentioned! I did the reset procedure; however, I had no luck—still no furnace.

Here’s me hoping that someone has some more ideas for me to consider.

[rdlouks]

I have a 2018 Jayco Pinnacle with an Atwood furnace and just had the same issue with the furnace. I can get it to run by flipping the reset switch on to of the furnace (P.I.T.A.) to get to and it will run for awhile then quit again. Aside from replacing the complete furnace has anyone found a solution? Defective Switch, control board, Etc? Since my unit is out of warranty and accessing the furnace is a real pain I want to be reasonably sure I am correcting the issue.

[Smoky]

Besides the reset switch, there's another switch called a "sail switch." In my case, it was accessible through the rear of the unit. I live in the southwest--lots of dust; so, things get messy around here. Anyway, I cleaned that switch and the surrounding area and the furnace now works fine.

[rdlouks]

Originally Posted by Smoky

Besides the reset switch, there's another switch called a "sail switch." In my case, it was accessible through the rear of the unit. I live in the southwest--lots of dust; so, things get messy around here. Anyway, I cleaned that switch and the surrounding area and the furnace now works fine.

I don't think my sail switch is causing the issue. When it quits working the reset switch is tripped so I have to shut the thermostat off (or disconnect the ground wire at the wire nut) reset the switch and it will work for a while. I can't help but wonder since the furnace is not only protected by the reset/shutoff switch but also by a 20 amp ATO fuse in the power distribution panel. So would it be OK to temporarily eliminate/bypass the reset switch.

[rdlouks]

Originally Posted by cmykpro

Well here we go again. Had the dealer out twice to fix this issue, we thought the second time was the fix. Fast forward to today (one year later) and the saga takes a twisted turn. I was closing up our camper for the weekend and draining the tanks. I hear the blower for the furnace turn on which was really odd because it wasn't turned on. Then it started turning off and on rapidly. I double checked the thermostat and it was completely off. I dug into the heater to see that the dealers "fix" from last year was to tape the infamous reset switch down......
This is obviously a safety concern and I will be visiting my dealers service manager tomorrow morning....

WATCH THIS VIDEO!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/UEw6nnWqfqhkLWQG8

Since the furnace circuit is also protected at the power distribution panel by a 20 amp ATO fuse taping the reset switch should not be too unsafe. As long as it is not a permanent fix.

[Bookemdanno]

I don't remember who it was, but someone on the forum replaced the reset switch and it solved their problem.

[Stingray75]

Well, looks like our 2019 Pinnacle decided to join the club. Tried to start the furnace and all seemed fine as I set the thermostat to heat/gas - furnace fan started but after a minute shut down. Having experienced the sail switch issue before, I thought I knew what was in my future. Thinking a gentle tap on the furnace would help, I tried again - same results. Hoping for better results (it’s 37 degrees outside) I gave it a 3rd opportunity but this time noticed the t-state would switch to off followed shortly by the blower stopping. Leaving the t-stat off, I exercised the reset switch on the furnace and tried operation again. When he t-stat switched to off, I cycled it back to heat/gas before the blower stopped. Shortly after, the thermostat began clicking and continued until I shut the system down.